Travelling the Ode: Exercise 2

I've always wanted to read more poetry than I have: Keats, Plath, Mitlon, Byron, Poe, to name a few. I recently got Plath's Ariel from the library. But I feel like I could get a lot more out of poetry, if I knew a little more about it. I'd really like to read and write more poems, but understand the structures and forms of poetry better before I do.

I've never really learned anything really foundational about poetry, except in a crazy 2-week poetry-cramming session after the AP English exam junior year in high school, and then it was summer and I forgot everything, and let's face it, I only really read Ulysses and The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson anyway.

So I've turned to any learner's best friend, the erudite Stephen Fry and his super accessible, friendly and very educational book, The Ode Less Travelled. It's all about understanding poetry in order to enjoy poetry, and is written in an humorous yet earnest tone by an author who makes you feel right at home, making the same observations you are: about how pretentious pretentious snobs are, how seemingly arbitrary prosodic jargon can be, and how mediocre/silly his own poetry is.

Another great thing about the book is that Fry provides exercises for the reader to do, in order to better understand the concept he's just explained---- and he is constantly begging the reader to slow down and actually do the assignment, actually get a pencil and mark up the book. After a while you just feel deceitful not doing the exercises and not doing them properly. Although I started the book last year and balked at the first exercise (marking iambic pentameter and reading it over and over again outloud) I decided to try harder this time. I actually followed the instructions, and what do you know! It really helped! I am understanding iambic pentameter a lot better now, and can read it out loud much better than before.

The second exercise set me the task of writing my own 10 lines of iambic pentameter. It neednt be good, lofty, profound or anything like that, repeated Fry over and over again. Just practice writing iambic pentameter, trying to use more than just monosyllabic words, and trying to do a few paired lines. And do it all in 10 min so you don't obsess over everything: you are just practicing the meter! (He even does the exercise himself to demonstrate that it is possible and to keep the stakes low.)

Here's what I came up with. It's not very good, but it sure is in iambic pentameter. Or at least I hope so:

1.
I should obey the hateful clock alarm.

2.
My mother's shoes, those hammers split the floor

3.
I killed a man today with just a blink.

4&5.
How can you know how I experience
a sunless Spring, a birdsong scraping snow?

6.
A dancer's body never lasts for long.

7.
I see your apple sure is ruby-red.

8&9.
If worlds would shut I'd stay alone with you
blockade the din, the eyes, and hold your hand.

10.
My tea was bad and nearly cost my health.

Fry says to practice writing a few lines everyday. So perhaps more bad iambic pentameter coming soon!